The investigation into a Waterville man who was accidentally shot in the face Wednesday night will be reviewed by the district attorney, police said Friday.
Dale Poulin, 31, of Ash Street, was shot while showing his hunting rifle to some friends about 9 p.m. at an apartment at 218 College Ave.
Police said the group was exchanging hunting stories when Poulin went outside and brought in a .270-caliber hunting rifle.
The bullet went through Dale Poulin’s chin and appears to have exited by his left eye, Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said Friday. The bullet then passed through the bill of his cap and into the ceiling of the apartment.
“The investigation indicates it didn’t go off by being dropped,” Massey said Friday afternoon. “One of the last things that we need to do is sit down with the D.A. to make sure that they don’t feel there’s a possibility of a criminal charge. It doesn’t appear that there might be, but that will be a final decision by the D.A. once all the reports are in.”
Massey said Thursday that at one point, Poulin put the barrel of the rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger.
When the officers spoke with people at the scene Wednesday night, they said Poulin had come to visit earlier in the night and had walked in with a bottle of whiskey, Massey said.
“It’s just one of those unfortunate things where they start drinking and they’re talking about hunting and someone goes out and gets their hunting rifle out of their vehicle and just do things with a firearm that you shouldn’t do when you’re in that kind of situation,” he said. “Alcohol and firearms don’t mix.”
"Massey said Thursday that at one point, Poulin put the barrel of the rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger."
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, it sounds like a botched suicide.